Essence Hit Man does his thing

Essence Hit Man ($2.80) set fractions of 21.86 and 44.17 in the six-furlong sprint, and was in front by about six lengths at the top of the stretch. Race for Gold began to close the gap at the eighth pole, but Essence Hit Man held on to score by a 1 3/4 lengths in 1:10.01. Doctor Jack was a distant third in the six-horse field of Ontario-breds.

It was a meet-leading ninth stakes victory for Chantal Sutherland, who also rode Essence Hit Man when he won the Queenston and Woodstock stakes in the spring.

"He came out of the gate really relaxed," said Sutherland. "It was a little tight at the beginning, and [It's Time Bear] touched his hind end. When that happened, the acceleration was like flooring it in a Ferrari. He just took off, my head went back, and I just tried to look pretty. He's like running on a cloud. He's so amazing on his feet."

* In Saturday's So Elite ($5.50) ran down 7-5 favorite Stormy Lord in the stretch before drawing clear to prevail by two lengths under Jono Jones.

The Mark Casse-trained So Elite covered a mile around one turn in 1:34.72 in the turf route for 3-year-olds. R. Shining Hope finished third in a field reduced to five after three horses were scratched.

* In Saturday's , the Saratoga shipper Sensational Slam held off another first-time starter, Naval Attack, to take the 5 1/2-furlong dash for 2-year-olds.

Sensational Slam came wide from a stalking position in the stretch, and then outran the closing Naval Attack to win by a neck, in a time of 1:04.78. Pacemaker Molinaro Handsome faded to third in the 12-horse field of Ontario-breds.